The Case Against Religulous -- The Misleading Francis Collins Interview

Being from Alabama and also being "left" of center I have found Mahr to have devolved into a silly and sarcastic person. I at one time found him funny but he has no balance and attacks those different from him with bareley concealed anger. Snide remarks about Alabama and the south without really knowing the people or the places he attacks. I'm no fan of george bush and I'm certainly not a right wing zealont but I do think I'm fair minded and treat people the way I would want to be treated. I am so sick of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and the bullies and hawks who have never taken up arms themselves for this nation. Yet what does the left offer? Smirks and snide dummies like Mahr and Keith Olberman who have become the very thing they profess to hate.

It's unfortunate, but not surprising, that Bill Maher chose to make a mockery of Dr. Collins. I heard Dr. Collins give a great talk on science and faith last night and what impressed me most about him, besides his obvious intelligence and list of accomplishments, was his great humility. He talked about many things, but never beyond his capabilities. Bill Maher would be wise to do the same. I've heard that Kerry Kennedy's new book on Catholicism includes an interview with Bill Maher. Does she think that somehow Maher exempts her from one of the "religulous"?.

I saw this movie this afternoon, and I agree this was one of the lesser segments that could have ben greater. Granted, Maher was looking for an easy joke to tie a complicated topic together. I expect his rambling was a product of have the seed of a good concept but no idea how to make it work. This was one of a few weak segments. But the good segments were so good I think the movie was worth my time and money - I rarely pay retail for movie tickets- preferring our $1.50 theater a few weeks later. But I count this as $7.50 well spent.

Don, I also like Smullyan's work and have given a few copies of his books away. There is a guy I would like to spend some time with.

Thanks for posting this Steve.

One has to wonder what makes Bill Maher tick. A silly man, hero to millions of silly people. One day he'll wake up, old and wrinkled, look at himself in the mirror, and cry at the utter waste he made of his life.

I saw Religulous last night. Excellent subject matter. Stellar entertainment. No other comedian could have pulled off such a serious subject with that kind of delicate balance between gravity and wit. He used humor to disarm people, who were then left to question their own peculiar and ridiculous miscalculations. It seems that his goal is just to open peoples eyes and ask them if they care that they are being shepherded off a cliff. It can't hurt to ask, Right?

Sure Maher was deceptive. It's the norm in this mockumentary game. I'm not here to defend that. But I do have to point out that he made Collins look bad and it was perfectly justified. If Collins wants to believe in God and evolution that's fine (in fact, as I'm sure he'd appreciate, his belief in a God is partially rooted in his genetic makeup). But why does he insist on believing in this mythical Jesus figure and all the strange religious trappings of the Catholic Church? There's no good reason a scientist like him should, and Maher nailed him on it.

A person who has had a genuine born again experience cannot be both;
a creationist and or an evolutionist, there ceases to be a pick and choose, you have to believe in creation according to the genesis account[no big bang also]you can be very professional and elite in life and still not know Jesus Christ as the author of your salvation, he either made you into a different person or you remain the same unchanged religious person.

Francis Collins is brilliant, but he is a scientist and not a New Testament expert. There are thousands of experts who could give good evidence for the historicity of the Gospels, but Bill did not talk to them. His expertise lies in the ability to believe in both God and evolution (I personally believe both). I think that if we do not acknowledge that evolution is not incompatible with Christianity, then there will be a lot more ignorant folks in our faith.

I'm a Christian and I admit that I do not have certainty in what I believe, but atheists don't either. That's where faith comes in. You make a conscious decision to believe one this or another based on experience, personal preference, etc. I do have a great deal of evidence that shows belief in God and Jesus is very justified, even though there is never certainty when it comes to this kind of history (and yet we still believe in Julius Caeser and Alexander the Great).

People rarely believe one thing or another because of intellectual evidence (or lack thereof). Bill Mahar is no exception, and he sees what he wants to see in the religious community. it is a lot easier to argue against a group if you characterize them as ignorant. Christians do the same thing with atheists, and the best way to have dialogue is to avoid these sweeping generalizations.